Journey
by Jewel's Journey
Summary: It's a new school year but I'm back to square one. I'm back to where I was three years ago, without enough glee club members to keep the club up and running. Instead of taking a step forward, I took three steps back. I actually thought after winning nationals last year I was going to get a lot of students to sign up for glee but It's been a week..An OC glee fanfic!*CONTEST CLOSED!*
1. CONTEST FORM! CLOSED

**CONTEST CLOSED!**

Hello there gleeks!

I'm Jewel and I'll be writing a glee fan fic but here's the thing: Instead of making up the characters on my own, how about you send your own glee character(s) and I'll pick the ones I like along with my own OC, of course. Sounds fun, right?

_Here's a bit of info on the plot from Mr. Schue himself:_

**'It's a new school year but I'm back to square one.**

**I'm back to where I was three years ago, without enough glee club members to keep the club up and running. Instead of taking a step forward, I took three steps back. I actually thought after winning nationals last year I was going to get a lot of students to sign up for glee but It's been a week now and not a single name has been added to the list. Principle Figgings, of course, isn't being any help either, instead he's threatening to give Roz Washington the glee club's small budget to buy ridiculously flamboyant swimsuits for the synchronized swimming club.**

**After my star players Rachel, Finn, Mercedes, Kurt, Mike, Santana, Quinn and Puck graduated last year I literally lost half of the glee club. Sure, I've got Sam, Joe, Sugar, Rory, Tina, Artie, Brittany and, of course, Blaine the most determined of the bunch, but that's barely enough to keep glee on lifesupport and not even close to the number needed to compete.**

**I need to fix this or else I'll be disappointing my students.'**

I'll be picking up to four characters (making the total of ND members 12, enough to compete) but I might accept more if I get good enough applications.

_**Here's the info I need for your OC:**_

Name:

Nicknames (if they have any):

Age and birthday:

Gender:

Sexuality:

History (write about their background. _at least one good paragraph long_):

Family life (one paragraph long, please):

Appearance (i.e: clothes, hair, body, figure etc):

Personality (one paragraph, please):

Talent (i.e: dancing, singing or acting):

Hidden talents (if they have any):

Audition song:

Favorite genre of song (both to perform and listen to):

Catch phrases/ things they usually say i.e: "hell to the no" - Mercedes:

Clique/social standing:

How they joined the glee club:

What your OC would say when asked to describe themselves (i.e: Hi, My name is _ and I'm the baddest bitch out there and _. + Needs to be informative yet funny):

****Random facts/ extra things you want to include (not manditory) :**

_**IMPORTANT: ALL SUBMISSIONS SHOULD BE SENT VIA P.M NOT IN THE REVIEWS SECTION.**_

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_**if you want to come up with antagonists instead, you can send the following info:**_

_***What is your antagonist's name?**_

_***What's their proffession? What do they do in life?**_

_***Why is destroying the glee club one of their hobbies?**_

_***What's your antagonist's personality like?**_

_***What are your antagonist's most notable traits and skills?**_

**THANK YOU!**

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**CONTEST CLOSED! **


	2. Prologue: Melinda Jane Roberts MJ

PROLOGUE: MELINDA JANE ROBERTS (MJ)

A shiny car pulled up in the McKinley High School parking lot. In it was Cassandra and her daughter Melinda Jane Roberts or MJ for short. The mother looked down to have her dark brown eyes clash with her daughter's gray ones in the passenger seat, "Melinda, are you ready for your first day of attending a public school?" Cassandra asked her, scrunching up her nose at the mention of public schools and the hormonal, improper teenagers it held whom she didn't want her daughter to be acquainted with.

"Yes, I am, mother." Melinda bit her lip hard to keep herself from saying anything she would regret later. After all, her parents always had a tendency to want a perfectly polite Barbie doll with etiquette for a daughter and whenever Melinda tried to rebel they would go into therapist mode, telling her that her behavior was a result of some phase or sometimes even a mental illness. So, she figured she should keep her mouth shut most of the time, biting away the sarcastic gold her parents always seemed to provide, because she didn't want to be told that she had bipolar syndrome or some form of deranged ADHD. She didn't want to have a repeat of fifth grade when her parents almost force fed her antidepressants, entirely convinced that she was emotionally scarred after she flushed her first goldfish called Goldie down the toilet.

"If you aren't… I could turn around now and drive straight back to Crawford Country Day and—"

"Mom, we've talked about this a hundred times." Melinda sighed in frustration, annoyed that her mom still thought that she had to make every decision and dictate her every move, "I am sure that I want to attend a public school. I want to stay as far away as possible from Crawford and any private school for the matter. Especially after what happened with Kelly." Tears sprang into her eyes and threatened to spill as memories of her old roommate, staying up late, a couple of smuggled magazines and the stereo playing in the background caught up with her.

Cassandra was speechless for a moment and Melinda felt proud that she could accomplish such a feat since her mother was a therapist and everyone knows how much bullshit therapist can whip up, so, she could safely say that she could cross that item off her bucket list.

"Bye." Melinda said, smiling to herself due to her little victory, as she got out of the car but she didn't let herself get too cocky because she knew her parents and she _knew_ that she had won that little battle but this war was _far_ from over.

A/N: I decided to upload each OC their own little, humble prologue to introduce them in a unique manner. So this one was obviously about my own OC called MJ and the next one will hopefully be up soon. So here's the final cast list:

******Alexander & Benjamin Denton(juniors) _created by EsaEnai_**

**Micah Beaumont De Angelo (sophomore)_created by J4m_****_3Z XO_**

**Chelsi Annabelle Margaret (junior)Wright _created by CandyGirl79_**

**Nicole Elise Larson (senior) _created by NorahsaurusRex_**

**Elena Savannah Young (junior)_created by MaldrianLuver13_**

**Juliette Karina Thompson (sophomore) _created by ShortLittlePixie_**

**MJ Roberts (junior)_created by yours truly_**

**Michael 'Fish' Silver (junior)_created by EsaEnai_**


	3. Prologue: Michael Fish Silver

**PROLOGUE: Michael "Fish" Silver**

Martin Silver wasn't pleased. His son, Michael, or Fish as he's better known, was slacking and wasn't living up to his usually high standards. It was 5 A.M and the sun hadn't even gone up. The sky was a dark blue canvas full of nighttime stars sprinkled across it and the moon wasn't all that clear because of the fog surrounding it. To Fish it looked very much similar to 'A starry night', a painting by Vincent Van Gogh, an artist he used to admire when he was a kid and actually pursued art in his free time. Fish sighed as he grabbed the blue, fuzzy towel with his name embroidered in silver, a handmade gift from his mother.

He dried his face, trying not to groan as his father rambled on about how he should complete a lap across the Olympic pool they had in their backyard in less time and how he needed to loosen up and fix his form.

"Fish, you need to focus!" Martin boomed, his loud voice shattering the silence of the warm Ohioan night, "You aren't going anywhere near that damn Olympic gold medal if you aren't ruthless and focused! Michael Phelps didn't get to where he was depending on his natural born talent, no, he was determined as hell and that's what you need to be, kid!"

"I was only off by two seconds, sir." Fish said through gritted teeth as he ran his towel through his hair. He hated when his dad compared him to Olympic champions. He was just a seventeen-year-old boy, after all. Yeah, sure, he was very talented at what he did; maybe even as talented and skilled as Phelps was when he was just starting out. He knew his father was right, like he always was, about Fish needing more drive, determination, and above all else focus, if he was ever going to make it in the big leagues. After all, the Olympics were way more cut throat, a far cry from all the swimming contests he championed without even trying too hard. Fish cringed as he got the reaction he very well expected from his coach, "Two seconds are a hell of a lot and just because you made that snarky ass, little comment give me ten perfectly timed laps and if you're just a millisecond late you'll give me ten more! Come on, get a move on, kid! We've got a lot of time before we have to head out to school."

Michael Silver bit the inside of his cheek so hard that he actually tasted coppery blood running in his mouth but he didn't care. He didn't want to end up doing thirty laps and attend his first day of school completely drained.

After he had readjusted his Speedo swimming cap, his neon orange nose clips and his matching goggles, Fish held his breath as he dove into the clear water, knowing intuitively that it was going to be a _long_ day.

**A/N: Next up, we'll hopefully be meeting yet another OC. Hope you liked Fish. R&R to tell me how I'm doing so far. I love constructive criticism. Thanks! **

**Jewel**


	4. Prologue:Chelsi Annabelle M Wright

** PROLOGUE: Chelsi Annabelle Margaret Wright**

While Fish was busy with his morning swim practice Chelsi Annabelle Margaret Wright was busy plotting for the ultimate popularity scheme. After she had finished her early morning "New school year" ritual, Chelsi lay, sprawled on the hot pink duvet on her queen sized bed, her long, luscious golden curls rested on the soft, oversized, feather-stuffed pillows. On her lap was last year's McKinley High yearbook.

She flipped through the many pages that bore the faces of nameless random teenagers with either flawed skin, braces and glasses or maybe worse, all of the above. She skipped the many lame, geeky clubs like The AV club and The Celibacy club and stopped when she reached the Football team. Chelsi, with hawk eyes, scrutinized the faces of all the boys. There was that blonde guy with the huge lips and a number of somewhat attractive faces that mostly graduated the year prior but no one stuck out in particular. She proceeded to the next page to see the school's hockey team but they all sported hideous mullets so Chelsi quickly took her pretty eyes to the next page which held multiple photos of the school's swim team the McKinley High School "Guppies". Leave it to McKinley to give their school teams the lamest names ever.

In the collage, Chelsi saw a dozen of hot shirtless hunks. The biggest picture was of the whole team standing in a straight line, in their training suits, with whopping gold medals hanging around their necks. In the middle was a gorgeous boy that Chelsi supposed was the captain since he was holding the huge trophy and was standing next to the coach. His name, from what she read from beneath the picture, was "Fish". He looked familiar with his short dark brown hair, amazing olive skin that looked soft enough to touch, huge dark brown eyes that resembled the Godiva dark chocolate Chelsi and her mom were obsessed with and his lashes were wild and unruly, framing those gems called eyes. He was hot and native American and a swimmer, a triple threat... But most importantly he seemed very popular that she almost wondered how they hadn't bumped into each other in that small school. Slowly a plan started to formulate in Chelsi Wright's mind.

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A/N: I have multiple things to talk about in my little author's note. First order of business: I would love to give an overdue thank you to my Beta 'EsaEnai'! You are amazing! Thanks for tolerating my untimely and badly timed PMs and rants and insecurities.

Second order of business: sorry for being a tad bid late with this prologue and id rather not bore you with the details. I hope you liked Chelsi cause I know I do!  
Next on Journey... Someone sassy, a Santana 2.0 if you will, will be stepping into the spotlight ;)


	5. Prologue: Micah Beaumont De Angelo

**A/N: Okay, guys. I give you full permission to hate me. I do apologize if you really did get impatient with me. To whatever readers I have out there, without further ado, I give you Santana 2.0. Untamed & Uncut! Okay that was unnecessary... :P I hope you like him. :)**

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**PROLOGUE: Micah Beaumont De Angelo**

Micah Beaumont De Angelo stared at his reflection in the long mirror placed in his walk-in closet. He did a little twirl to inspect his outfit from every angle before turning back to face the mirror again with a satisfied smile on his face. _Karl Lagerfield would be proud._

He decided to wear a knit poncho with fitted dark jeans and designer shoes. He walked out of the closet to grab his cell phone from his bedside table when his eyes fell on a framed photo. In the photo were two laughing teenagers obviously having a great time and they were Santana Lopez and Micah himself. He let out a sad sigh as he remembered that his only friend had graduated the year prior. For some reason, Santana Lopez, a junior at the time, spotted a sassy student arguing with the Jocks. She walked up to them told Rick 'The Stick' to shove it up his ass and took Micah under her wing. He was shocked at first that a popular cheerleader, Santana Lopez, none the less, wanted to befriend him but he swiftly answered her invitation for coffee at the Lima Bean after school, loving the fact that he got a ticket to instant popularity. By the end of the week, Rick didn't even think twice to harass Micah whenever he strutted by and everyone smiled and greeted him in the hallway. Some people showed Micah the respect he yearned for by saying hi and asking him how his weekends were. Others would have another reaction to his newfound friendship with Santana—fear. Some geeks would dodge out of his way, sometimes they would walk the other way if they saw Micah walking down the hall, embracing his inner model and treating the hallways like catwalks. Some geeks would even offer doing his homework for him. The jocks, on the other hand, mostly ignored him and quite honestly Micah didn't give a rat's ass about them. As long as they weren't, as Santana would've put it, 'All up in his grill' he was happy. In other words, Micah was quite pleased with his high school experience, unlike many unfortunate freshmen.

But, now, Micah was alone, without Santana. Sure, he had Brittany and very much adored her but let's be serious. She had the IQ of a carrot stick.

Micah, as fast as he had gotten into his sad phase, snapped out of it when he heard his phone beep. It was a text message from Brittany. She was waiting outside for him so that they could drive to school in style. He knew that Santana had expected him to take charge of her now vacant HBIC position. He knew he needed to raise his head high and work it in his platform shoes that day because that was what Santana Lopez would've done. She would've dominated the school along with Brittany, her sidekick, and she wouldn't have expected less from Micah. After all, she always called him her little—slightly bitchy—protégé.

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**A/N 2: I hope you guys liked Micah! He's awesome and quite unpredictable. I hope I did him justice! Next up on JOURNEY!, we'll be meeting a couple of quite... ermm... ****_interesting _****oddballs. Stay tuned.**


	6. Prologue: Alex & Benji Denton:the twins:

**A/N: Okay, this prologue is a bit action packed and longer so it might get you excited for the actual story(and it might also make up for the somewhat boring and uneventful intros I came up with). Once again, I'd like to thank EsaEnai for all their help! R&R!**

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**Prologue: Alex & Benji Denton**

Alex and Benji Denton sat in their Aunt Flo's floral inspired living room with the television turned up high. They were watching reruns of America's Next Top Model. On their laps were huge light pink bowls of Apple Jacks, their favorite cereal, and in their hands were silver spoons, which were clattering away ungracefully with the ceramic bowls. The boys had quite the obsession with food and they had the ability to out-eat coked-out truckers but somehow they managed to maintain being skinny as poles. Their Aunt would've been prepared to bet that they had black holes for stomachs.

The air was perfumed with a slightly irritating Jasmine smell coming from the scented candles placed all around the house. The transparent glass door that lead to the lawn gnome plagued backyard was open and the white and gold curtains, hand embroidered by their own old Auntie Flo, were fluttering in and out of the house due to the slightly windy autumn day. Benji, clad in his favorite navy blue hoodie, shivered a bit. He never did like the cold, unlike his twin.

"So," Benji said, with a mouthful of cereal, "Her." He pointed at the television screen where an ethnic model, slightly on the short side was sauntering down the catwalk. The twins were playing a game where they'd point out a girl and say whether they'd _get_ with her or not.

"Nope." Alex shook his head and tiny drops of milk splashed on Benji's face. He gave his twin a nod before wiping the drops off his eyebrow making Alex chuckled.

After he had gulped down the spoonful, Benji pointed at another model. She was Asian and had long, thin legs and a curvy body.

"Yep."

Benji gave his twin an approving nod before they continued digging in.

Benji pointed at a blonde model with stunning blue eyes and blonde hair styled in a bob.

"Uh. Nope." Alex shook his head making his slightly shaggy dark brown hair ruffle.

"Wha… Why?" Benji questioned. _He_ thought she was attractive. "What's wrong with her?"

To which Alex bluntly replied, "Her gums. The Sheila looks like a horse."

Benji's jaw dropped. He quickly regained his composure before he replied. "What if she's got a great personality? Or…" Alex raised a questioning eyebrow at him, urging him to go on.

"Great bazoongas?" Benji added with a wink.

"A horse is a horse, baby brother." Alex laughed, "Stop being a poof!"

"You're a poof!" shot back Benji. He winced after a spoon almost hit him in the eye. Alex gave his brother a cheeky look, making Benji gulp. In a matter of seconds, Alex had managed to pin down his twin on the floor. "Who's a poof, now?" Alex chuckled, as he masterfully continued to restrain his fidgeting brother.

"You are!" Benji hissed, not wanting to loose this war, as he tried to break away from Alex's deadly grip.

"I won't let you go until you say that you're a poof!" Benji's brother snapped back, unable to conceal his laughter. "Say it!"

"NEVER!"

"Don't make this any harder on yourself, Benjamin Denton!" Alex warned, "Say it!"

"I WILL NEVER SAY IT, ALEXANDER DENTON! SO LET ME GO!"

It was at that precise moment their halfway deaf Aunt decided to show up and play the role of the concerned adult.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TWO DOING?" She fumed but she didn't wait for an answer. Actually, the old woman started to rant after she had froze the twins in place. They were more surprised than fearful, to be honest. Alex and Benji never expected her to hear them. Aunt Flo was ancient and had to use not one, but _two_ hearing aids. Granted, they were a tad bit loud. The neighbors might've been calling 911 as the Denton family spoke. "YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE! AREN'T YOU EXCITED FOR YOUR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IN AMERICA?" at that point Aunt Flo wasn't screaming because she was angry. She was actually quite excited for the twins to be starting their junior year in an American High School instead of the school they had left behind in Australia.

Alex jumped off his brother and brushed the imaginary dust from his clothes. Benji extended his hand to his brother, signaling him to help him up. When Alex didn't oblige, Benji let out a faux dramatic sigh as he got up. "Aren't you excited to shave that mustache of yours?" said Benji Denton to the elderly woman.

"WHAT?" Aunt Flo asked in her wobbly, old voice, "I DIDN'T QUITE CATCH THAT, DEARIES. WOULD YOU MIND REPEATING WHAT YOU SAID?"

"Aunt Flo," Alex said with his trademark smirk that reached up to his ear, "He said he's up the spout with a lizard baby!"

"NO, I ALREADY ATE. GET GOING TO SCHOOL YOU TWO!"

After they grabbed their skateboards, Alex and Benji were headed to McKinley High, laughing along the way at how comic their slightly senile Aunt was.

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**A/N: Okay! I hope you liked them! I want to know whether you think that I perfectly portrayed/introduced those boys. **

**Here're some translations to some Aussie slang:**

**Sheila=Woman**

**Bazoongas= breasts**

**Poof= gay guy, mostly used by teens whenever they're joking around.**

**Up the spout= pregnant **

**I mostly used the net with the meanings of the words EsaEnai gave me. So, please correct me if I'm wrong with the definitions.**

**Anywhoo! Next up, we'll be meeting yet another character. Here's a hint. She's female. That's all I'm about to give:P**

**ALSO, GUYS CAN YOU PLEASE PM YOUR OC'S CELEB-LOOK-A-LIKE? It'd be really helpful! :)**

**thanks!**


	7. Prologue:Nikki,Elena&Juliette READ AN

_**A/N: So guys, I decided to surprise you with a three OC Prologue to make up for my somewhat long absence... I hope you enjoy what I had prepared for you enough to review and tell me your thoughts and feedback on the OCs... Tell me if you think I wrote them right... I'd like to thank EsaEnai and everyone who had submitted an OC. Next chapter would be the first one in the story! I can't wait to show you what's in store for our beloved band of merry singing yolks ;) *Yes, ShortLilPixie, this is a reference to your review:P* P.S PLEASE SEND ME YOUR OC'S CELEB LOOK-A-LIKES! NOT EVERYONE SENT ME THOSE AND I NEED THEM FOR DESCRIPTION PURPOSES!**_

**Prologue: Nicole Elise Larson,**

**Elena Savannah Young, **

**Juliette Karina Thompson**

Nicole Elise Larson woke up to the sound of her favorite band, Evanescence, blaring out of her alarm clock. With a large groan, she raised her hand and slammed it on the snooze button. After rubbing her eyes, Nikki dragged herself out of bed and into her black fuzzy slippers. Her mind was so blurry but, somehow, she managed to have one thought in her mind. _Well, I'm a senior now…_

She winced as the cold water came in contact with her face. That seemed to have woken her up a bit. She brushed her teeth with the annoyingly minty toothpaste, gargled some water to get rid of the horrid taste she had hated for as long as she could remember, and got into her clothes for the day. A Green Day T shirt, skinny jeans and a scarf wrapped around her neck. Nikki, considering she had thirty minutes to get to school, decided to practice playing an instrument. Her New Year's resolution was to play one instrument per day. Today, for Nikki, felt like a piano day. She ran her fingers over the cold black and white keys before she sat in front of the Baldwin Piano her dad got her for her tenth birthday.

Her fingers quickly took control and began playing the chords of a song she had written last year when she had her epiphany. The soft melody started to fill the air. Tears began to glaze over her eyes as a flood of memories almost drowned her. The loud voices of Dave Karofsky taunting her, Azimio laughing at her wardrobe choices and taste in music, Rick 'The Stick' Nelson's slushy facials ran through her head, making her skin prickle and tears stream. She remembered how she had snapped out of her fear one day. She remembered how she had decided to start fighting back. She remembered _how_ the last straw snapped, _how_ she had decided enough was enough. She finally drew a line. She started fighting back for herself and _anyone_ else that was bullied because they were different. She decided if that spineless Figgins was too terrified of a bunch of overweight jocks and their pathetic parents and _wasn't_ going to do anything about the bullying rates that were sky rocketing in McKinley, then _she_ would. Nikki sobbed as the emotional, heart wrenching song faded away. She put her head in her hands and allowed herself, for the first time in what seemed to be ages, to actually cry. God knew she and her pent up feelings deserved the release.

After she had cried so much that her eyes felt dry, Nikki heard her iPhone chirp. She went over to the coffee table and picked it up with shaking fingers. It was a text message…

_Have a terrific first day of school, Nikki. Make me proud! -A xxx_

Nikki began to sob again but somehow a weak smile appeared. It was her big sister, Anya. She missed her so much. Nikki walked to the abandoned kitchen where she saw a discarded, cold cup of black coffee on the dining table, a bagel and a newspaper on the island. Her parents must have left early for the Hospital. She shook her head. She really expected her parents to remember wishing her a great first day of senior year. Well, it must have been wishful thinking because Nicole decided that her parents never had the time of day for her. Their job was their daughter… Not her. The Hospital was where they wanted to be... Not in her company. She grabbed a bowl of Special K cereal as she repeated one sentence as a mantra in her head…

_One more year, and I'm out of this dump._

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Ten things changed Elena Savannah Young's life, ten signs. Those ten simple little ignorable signs ruined _everything_. At first, no one knew anything was wrong with Nicholas Young. He was charming, had perfect teeth, an amazing dimpled smile, and a laugh that sounded like music. He was the _perfect_ dad.

_1- Memory loss that disrupts daily life. _Check. Everyone thought it was normal that Nicholas missed an appointment that he had been preparing for weeks prior. They said it must have been stress. Elena and her fourteen-year-old brother, Harry, probably thought they were right.

_2- Challenges in planning or solving problems._ Check. It happened, one night, when Harry had asked his Math Genius of a father for help in his beginners Algebra class. Nicholas messed up and made simple errors that Elena spotted, and she used to get a C+ in Algebra.

_3- Difficulty with familiar tasks at home, work or at leisure. _Check. Nicholas kept on forgetting how to record the soccer games he was going to miss because he would be busy at work, and started asking Harry for help continuously, even after her brother had shown him how multiple times before.

_4- Confusion with time or place._ Check. People thought it was normal and tried to calm Elena down when she suspected his health was in jeopardy. Everyone told her to stop being so paranoid and that it was okay that her father thought it was August when, in fact, it was September. They told her stress had gotten to her father. They told her that Nicholas had been working way too hard balancing his demanding job and supporting Elena's soccer career.

_5- Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships._ Check. Elena's heart broke when she saw her father had passed a mirror and did a double take to say hi to his own reflection, thinking it was another person.

_6- New problems with words in speaking or in writing. _Check. Her dad once called his wristwatch a 'hand clock'.

_7- Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps._ Check. He once went on a frantic search for the TV remote when he had hidden it in the flower vase, resting on the coffee table, on purpose in multiple occasions before.

_8- Decreased or poor judgment._ No, this was the only sign that _didn't_ appear with her father. He still seemed to have his wit and sharp as a whip judgment.

_9- Withdrawal from work or social activities. _Check. Lately, Nicholas' social skills dissipated. He began skipping work and avoiding social gatherings he usually made a big fuss on attending. Like, the annual staff party held at his boss's house, which he never missed and felt was an obligation for him to drag his kids there with him.

10- _Changes in mood and personality._ Check. Nicholas started getting quite suspicious and anxious. He would freak out whenever his newly acquired routine or way of doing something was disrupted, when in the past he was carefree and never liked to stick to a routine or organized life.

It was too late when Elena and Harry decided to Google symptoms of Alzheimer's. Their forty-four-year-old father had just been diagnosed with second degree of Alzheimer's. The doctor told the concerned family in his office that day that his condition will only deteriorate and that he needed to hire a home nurse to aid them since their mother had gracefully walked out years ago and, despite the first two years of high school she spent being home-schooled and caring for her father alongside her sibling, the family came to decide that Elena and Harry were supposed to go back to school.

Elena was at the bottom of the steps double-checking whether her soccer gear was ready for practice after school. She didn't have time to drive back and get them later so she had to take them with her to school and put them in her locker. Harry was in the kitchen eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs behind her. She turned her head to see Nicholas two steps above her. He gave her a smile before sitting down next to her.

"Elena." He said.

"Hi, dad." She replied softly as she put his big fatherly hands in her tiny ones. "Don't you want to go back to bed? It's too early for you to be up."

"Bed?" He said in frustration. His thick brows were knit together in confusion as he tried to place the word with a picture.

"Yes." Elena replied with a smile, "Daddy, it's where you sleep."

"Oh." Nicholas sighed, his facial features indicated that he was still in confusion.

"Where's Regina?" He wondered. "She said she was going to run some errands."

Elena's heart stung. Her mom had left when she was four. She had told her dad that she was going to run some errands and that she might be late. So, he shouldn't wait up for her and have dinner with the kids. Then, hours turned into days that turned into weeks that quickly became years and Regina _never_ came back. Her father had recently started asking so much about Regina that she would feel a strong physical pain ripple through her body. She really didn't feel happy to tell him that she left but she knew, despite her father's illness, that he deserved to be told the truth each time. She didn't want to give him false hope.

"She's gone, daddy." Elena whispered before she engulfed her dad in a hug. He hugged her tight and she shook against him, trying not to break into a fit of tears. She had to be strong for him. She had to be strong for Harry. She had to be strong for _herself, _after all, the worst is yet to come.

She heard a soft cough come from behind their backs. Elena turned to find Nurse Anna with a sympathetic look on her face. Elena gave the middle-aged woman a small smile before the latter guided Nicholas back up to his room. When she was sure no one was around, Elena let her tough mask drop. She let her cool façade to fade for a moment, long enough for her to try and cry. She had her head buried in between her knees as the tears streaked down her face.

She heard someone shifting in the background. She looked up to see Harry, staring at her in concern, "El, we need to get going to school."

Elena got up to her feet, wiped her tears away with her purple sweater sleeve and gave him a nod. "Yeah, you're right…"

_I need to be strong for my family, _she reminded herself.

* * *

Juliette Karina Thompson was fast asleep. Her blanket was warm and inviting, her pillow was stuffed and fluffed to perfection and the atmosphere in her room was cold and _just_ right. She was dreaming a wonderful dream where she had met a gorgeous blonde Prince Charming with crystal blue eyes that she had always imagined marrying when she was a girl of six years, but instead of a white stallion he was riding… _Nyan Cat_? She knew she shouldn't have eaten that suspicious-looking pizza slice she had found in the fridge when she got paid a visit by the midnight food fairies.

Parker Thompson stared at his baby sister. She looked so _peaceful_, he thought. Too bad he had to give her a rude awakening. It was kind of a tradition for him to figure out creative ways to wake his 'Jules' up on her first day of school. Last year, he had stuffed her wide-open, drooling mouth with M&Ms. She had almost choked to death. He knew that he hadn't thought that through properly, but this year, he came up with a new way to wake Sleeping Beauty up... and it was guaranteed not to give her a near death experience.

He clutched the drumsticks in his palms so hard that they turned white. _Get ready, baby sis, Parker's wakin' you up Ringo Starr style._ Parker took a deep breath and smirked wickedly before whacking the sticks ungracefully on his old marching band snare drums from when he had marched in a Drumline.

Juliette's prince charming popped up, like a balloon animal that had just come in contact with a needle, with a loud boom. Soon enough, Nyan Cat and his rainbow farts flew away in reverse back to his home universe as the racket continued. Her eyes began to flutter as the consistent noise started to bring her back to real life.

Those loud booms sounded so much like drums... But who would be drumming inside Juliette's head? Her eyes flung wide open, bloodshot. She realized that the sound wasn't inside her brain, although it was loud enough for her to feel her heart beating along the off pitch drumming. She snapped her head to the left and saw Parker going all 'Rock Band' in her room.

"Rise and shine, princess." He gave her a devilish smile.

Parker's drumsticks fell to the ground and he froze in place when he saw the death glare he was receiving from his fifteen-year-old sister. Juliette quickly jumped off her bed; her covers and pillows flew to the ground. Parker knew they would now play a game of Tom & Jerry. She began chasing her big brother around their three-bedroom apartment until she finally managed to pin him down to the ground. He began to scream and beg her to get off him. "I surrender!"

"And?" Juliette said, still sitting on her brother's chest.

"You are the prettiest princess ever and I love you."

"_And?_"

"And I'm dumb." He added bitterly through grit teeth after a few seconds of hesitation.

"That's what I like to hear." Juliette jumped off him and helped Parker up on his feet.

"But I gotta hand it to you, bro." She smiled, "You outdid yourself this year…"

"I know." He smirked.

Juliette playfully punched him, "You jerk!"

"At least you didn't end up nearly choking to death this year…" Parker mocked her in a singsong voice.

"Whose fault was that the first time, huh?" She teased back with her arms crossed.

"Just get dressed while I finish flipping those pancakes." Parker rolled his eyes as he walked down the hall and into the kitchen.

Juliette smiled. She loved her brother; after all, he was the only family she's got. She went to her room to get dressed and emerged dressed in cute top from Forever 21 and dip-died shorts.

"I'm ready, Parkie." She said as she walked into the kitchen. Parker was taking the pan off the stove with his back towards Juliette. He turned around to say something to her but stopped dead in his tracks.

"Jules." He began slowly.

"Parker." Juliette replied, trying to mimic the same tone of voice.

"You're not wearing _that_!" His soft yet slow voice was long gone and was replaced with a harsh, commanding tone that would've belonged better to a Lieutenant with anger management issues in an army.

"Why not?" She questioned, placing her tiny hands on her hips. "What's wrong with this outfit? I think it's cute!"

"Well, for starters, this isn't how a fifteen-year-old girl should dress on her first day as a sophomore!" He exclaimed, "You're going to give everyone the wrong idea!"

"Everyone my age dresses this way." She replied calmly. "Relax, Parkie."

"Jules, I'm just not comfortable with my baby sister prancing around in some hot shorts at school with all the boys around when I'm stuck teaching Spanish!" He rambled and slammed the pan on the kitchen island, making the pancakes float in the air before landing, once again, back in the black frying pan.

"Okay…" Juliette decided to maintain some peace with her brother. He kind of did have a point. Teenaged boys were quite the hormonal creatures. They weren't like girls. Girls judge other girls by their clothes, for sure… but they wouldn't get the wrong idea if she showed up in that outfit. On the other hand, boys would think she was easy, which Julie liked to think she _wasn't_. She never even had a boyfriend before. It wasn't because she couldn't get one but it was because she wanted to save herself for someone special. In fact, her old schoolmates used to call her Mother Teresa. She dragged herself to her room, pulled on a pair of dark jeans before she sat herself down to eat the plate set on her side of the small, square dining table.

"I'm so sorry, Jules." Parker said. His voice was so soft and gentle that it came off as a whisper that Juliette wouldn't have caught if she didn't have the super hearing she was blessed with. " I just want to protect you…"

"I know." Juliette smiled genuinely, "And I love you for it, Parkie."

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_**A/N 2: I hope you enjoyed this! Review, please! I'd like to hear your thoughts! Please to those of you who didn't send me celeb look-a-likes, please do! I need it it's VERY IMPORTANT!**_


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